Are you drinking heavy alcohol? You may be at greater risk of liver disease

A new study suggests that the rate of severe liver disease among heavy alcoholics has exceeded double the last 20 years, consuming more alcohol innings.

Research, Published On Wednesday, American Medical Journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that heavy liquor is used among women, old adults, low -income individuals and people with metabolic syndromes such as obesity, hypertension and high blood sugar.

Doctors say that these groups are already at a high risk for liver disease, and excessive drinking only makes it worse.

A study writer and a transplant hepatologist Dr. Brian Lee said, “Liver disease is real, it is growing, and your risk is very high as much as you can think”.

Liver disease is a major cause of alcohol related deaths Canada And this United StatesThe severe form of the disease, which is Three main stagesIt leads to cirrhosis. This is when the liver has experienced irreversible damage and is quite scared.

“Alcohol causes fat to accumulate fat in the liver, that fat then causes inflammation, swelling then causes stains and scarning is one that causes long -term complications of liver disease,” Lee said.

Until it reaches later stages, it does not usually happen Many clear symptoms Related to alcohol related liver disease. And there is no specific treatment that can help.

People are often recommended to stop drinking alcohol or make changes to other lifestyle, but in severe cases where the liver has stopped working, a liver transplant may be necessary.

Rate of liver disease doubles: study

The new research followed over 44,600 American adults, from 1999 to 2020, aged 20 years or older.

Over a period of 20 years, the study found that among heavy alcoholics, the rate of severe liver disease rose from 1.8 percent from 1999 to 2004 to 4.3 percent in 2013 to 2020.

This growth was mostly among women, old people and people living in poverty.

Even though research was involved only in the United States, experts say this is a global tendency.

in Canada, Recent research It has also been shown that alcohol related diseases are increasing and women are rapidly affected.

Need better consumption guidelines: specialist

“One thing that we really need to try as a population is to educate our population better how much alcohol they are actually consumed,” Dr. Jennifer Fleming said, an associate professor in medicine and Public Health at Queen University in Kingston, Onts.

Fleming says that many people do not understand what a standard drink is.

Experts blamed this uncertainty on a slight transparency on the amount of alcohol in a mission and a standard drink of alcohol consumption guidelines.

For example, Fleming says that in the United States, 14 grams of pure liquor in the United Kingdom is considered a standard drink compared to 10 grams of pure liquor.

Meanwhile, in Canada, National Health Department A standard drink is 13.45 grams pure wineWhich includes 12 ounce bottles of beer, or five ounce glass wine in five percent alcohol.

Warning labels can help, study shows studies

But in many parts of the world, labels on alcohol products do not really specify how many grams in alcohol, which Fleming says it can be difficult for people to know.

Although research is limited, some studies suggest that keeping a warning label on alcohol can reduce consumption.

A Published study In 2020 examined the effects of the warning label on alcohol in Yucon. Researchers found that liquor sales decreased with the warning label and concluded that these labels resulted in reduced consumption.

“When people focused on warnings, they changed their beliefs,” one of the researchers Tim Stockwell said, who is a scientist of Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.

“Those people who raise their awareness about the risk of cancer expressed their intentions to cut their drinking.

Which consumption guidelines should be followed by Canadian?

Canadian Center for Mustis Use and Addiction (CCSA) New liquor consumption guidelines issued In 2023. He said that no amount of alcohol is safe and it is recommended not to have more than two drinks a week for men and women.

Despite getting funding from Health Canada to create these new guidelines, the Federal Health Department has not adopted them, and its The website has various recommendations,

In an email, a health Canadian spokesman told CBC News that CCSA’s work is “running” and said “Health Canada website will be updated after the completion of this work.”

To add a warning label, which better defines the risks and serve the shape, the health Canada says it will “monitor the situation and continue to inform the public about the loss of alcohol.”

But experts say that more should be done for better security of people. At this time, Stockwell says that the best guidance for Canadian people is to follow the recommendations by CCSA.

“Pressure is increasing,” Stockwell said, although he noted that it has been given the power of large commercial liquor companies.

People are more aware of health risks: experts

Not responsible for new research Increase in alcohol consumption During Kovid -19 epidemic, but Research in Canada found that During that time there was a great increase in alcohol related diseases.

Stockwell says that it is also not responsible for the initial suggestions that people are drinking with minimum politics.

He said, “There has been a change in public awareness about health effects.”

This is why he expects future research that he will show a decline in alcohol -related diseases, such as liver disease.

He says that it is also partially due to inflation.

Stockwell said, “When people have a low disposable income, they spend less on everything, and alcohol is no exception,” Stockwell said that people appear to pay attention to new information about the risks of cancer related to alcohol consumption.